On March 5, 1958 at 18:28 UTC, Explorer 2 (EXPLR2) was launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station (now Kennedy Space Center) by a Jupiter-C launch vehicle. Explorer 2 was to be a repeat of the Explorer 1 mission. However, due to a malfunction in the Jupiter-C launch vehicle, the fourth stage did not ignite. Subsequently, Explorer 2 did not reach orbit.
Explorer 2 was equipped with a Geiger counter for the purposes of detecting cosmic rays. The spacecraft was also equipped with a wide grid array and an acoustic detector for the purpose of micrometeorite detection.
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